Political Palaver
March 18, 2003

A few days after Christmas I was in a ranch supply store. They had been selling
big tin cannisters of popcorn before Christmas for six dollars apiece. After
the holiday, the price immediately dropped by fifty percent. I was in the check-out
line, having decided that the only things needed were two containers of this
bargain popcorn. The lady behind the counter said "Six dollars, please." I asked, "Is
there no tax?" She stated that there was no tax on food items.

While standing in the check-out line, I had been visiting with a "neighbor" (who
lives sixty or seventy miles away), and he said in his soft-spoken drawl, "If
our new representative gets his way, we will soon have a sales tax on groceries." One
thing led to another and we continued to discuss politics. He said, "I talked
to my mother the day after election, and she said she voted for so-and-so because
she had known him all of his life. I told her I didn't vote for him for the same
reason."